Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 1:58 am Post subject: Re: Which countries can I simply turn up in and look for wor

White ice wrote:

Hello all,

I will be CELTA qualified by the end of the week unless something goes badly wrong.

Which countries can a British passport holder turn up in and legally start looking for work?

All of the EU I suppose but what about places outside of the EU?

I would like to be able to go to a country and look for jobs without having to pre-arrange work and visas.

Depends....

Do you have a degree to go with your UK passport and CELTA?

If yes, then most of Asia, Central and South America are possible but you will then need to do a visa run to a bordering country to change from tourist status to a work visa after you find an employer willing to hire you.

If NO then your options for legal work fall off rapidly outside of the EU.

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 2:51 am Post subject: Re: Which countries can I simply turn up in and look for wor

tttompatz wrote:

Do you have a degree to go with your UK passport and CELTA?

If yes, then most of Asia, Central and South America are possible but you will then need to do a visa run to a bordering country to change from tourist status to a work visa after you find an employer willing to hire you.

Not for Japan. Show up on a tourist status or working holiday visa. With the WHV, you can start work immediately (for up to a year) and not need a degree. If you come as a tourist, don't tell immigration or customs you are job hunting, then find work, and you can process a work visa without leaving Japan (2-8 weeks needed for processing, though, perhaps longer).

When do you hope to look for work? It can make a difference. Pickings get very slim in Japan from now to February.

Applicant Prerequisites
Working Holiday Visas, valid for a period of one year from the date of issue, are issued to persons who satisfy all of the following requirements:
Be British Citizens who are resident in the United Kingdom
Intend primarily to holiday in Japan for a period of up to one year from the date of entry
Be aged between eighteen (1 and thirty (30) years both inclusive at the time of application for a Working Holiday Visa
Be persons who are not accompanied by children
Be persons who are not accompanied by spouses unless those spouses are in possession of a Working Holiday Visa or otherwise
Possess a valid passport and a return travel ticket or sufficient funds with which to purchase such a ticket
Possess reasonable funds for their maintenance during the period of initial stay in Japan
Intend to leave Japan at the end of their stay
Have not previously been issued a Working Holiday Visa
Have good health

I am keen to go to the country first so that I can find a good school in an area i like.

It would help if you described your criteria for both "good school" and the "area" you'd prefer to work/live in. Also, be aware that job hunting in country requires a good bit of start-up money (and/or proof of sufficient funds and a return ticket) to sustain you until you get receive your first pay.

Wherever you choose to go, you'll want to be sure you arrive at the beginning of the hiring season. For Central/Western Europe, that's roughly the very end of August through early October.

It can make a big difference if you are turning up wherever in the midst of the hiring peak or at a moment when most positions are already filled and everyone's comfortably in the midst of getting on with teaching and learning.

You can legally start looking for work in Turkey after you show up, though you can't legally work here without a permit, and most private language schools in Istankara and Izmir won't bother. If you get to Turkey and travel around a bit though, there's a large number of language schools (of drastically varying quality) outside the main metropoli that will.

From what I hear, it's similar in pretty much any emerging market where a Westerner doesn't need a visa to travel to, the key point being whether you can actually find a job worth having. Specifically, I've heard of some people doing it in Morocco, Latin America (as has already been discussed), and of course of Limeys and Erinlanders doing it in the EU. I also know an Aussie who did it in Vietnam, but A. you can't go there without a visa and B. he hated the job he landed when he got there, and left it after a few months.

I've also seen many accounts on these forums about people who go to China on a tourist visa and find a job, but I've never met anybody who's done it, despite the huge ESL industry there, which tells me it's either relatively rare, or the people who do it are so successful that they never leave.

I think that you might be able to do the same in the country-that-must-not-be-discussed (and know that country is very fertile ground, at least where babysitting opportunities are concerned) but you'd be better asking about that over on the Korean forums.

Also in the Republic of Georgia, foreigners from most Western countries, including Britain and the US, have the right to live, work, and conduct business for up to 360 days without a visa, and can get another 360 days just by leaving and re-entering. The upshot is that while Georgia is a beautiful country (I've been), it's a very poor one, and from what I hear, you will be lucky to make anything more than living expenses.

One thing you haven't said yet: what age and type of institution do you want to teach?

From what I have read this is not a good time for most of South America.

Any specific advice on good countries to turn up in during January for TEFL work?

not good for china. fall semester ends around jan 18, after which
unis will be closed for spring festival....about 5 weeks. offices will
all be empty, and government offices will be working even slower
than usual. staff return late february, classes begin on the 25th.

but perhaps good for china if you want a language mill mcjob. often
students are forced to attend cram sessions during vacation.